July 19, 2020 Sunday Meeting
5:00
P.M. Eastern Daylight Savings Time
Discord:
Valar Guild/meeting_place
Back to News
Transcript work by Varda.
[times are Central Time from Varda's Discord. Add one hour for
Eastern.]
["slight smile" is the same as we are used to using as a regular
smiley]
Attending (and
spoke): (5)
Discord:
Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (Before-meeting), Falco, Varda (presiding)
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news:
Web:
Gaming:
General reports: World of Warcraft,
Starcraft 2, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings
Online
Tolkien:
Topic: Tolkien Moment
telling of the Arda after this one.
After-meeting:
More chat on the Tolkien topic.
Flashgaming Reviews by
Ar-Pharazon. Badges still coming in.
top
Before-meeting
Eonwe Valar07/13/2020
Looks like they're nerfing Leaden Foot and Split Personality in
Horrific Visions. Not really the most annoying of the affects to me,
but then I have Blessing of Freedom to help dampen the annoyance of
Leaden Foot.(edited)
Eonwe Valar07/13/2020
Guess I should try a 5-mask now to see how crazy it is before the
nerf, heh.
July 14, 2020
Eonwe Valar07/14/2020
Eh, tried, failed, was close enough to say I might've been able to
do it with a little different strategy or better luck.(edited)
Eonwe Valar07/14/2020
It was doable. I'm satisfied with that for now.
Eonwe Valar07/14/2020
Bah, just realized I said Honor Level 79, meant Honor Level 69. The
new Artifact skin is at 80.(edited)
July 15, 2020
Eonwe Valar07/15/2020
Heya to those up this late :}
July 17, 2020
Eonwe Valar07/17/2020
Got my WIcked Swarmer from Wrathion.
Eonwe Valar07/17/2020
Now I just need the backpack and I can waste the rest on sockets for
items that'll be useless in a couple of months, hehe.
July 18, 2020
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 9:34 PM
For fun re our RP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xIhCesfbYA
YouTube
Shadiversity
Underappreciated Historical Weapons: the
SWORDSTAFF
July 19, 2020
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 3:52 PM
Aiya, afk for a while, back in some 30 minutes I expect.
VardaToday at 3:53 PM
Thanks for letting us know, Phar. : )
[4:00 PM]
Aiya!
[4:00 PM]
@Bounder Yay! Meeting time!
FalcoToday at 4:01 PM
Yahoo!
ArienValarToday at 4:01 PM
ello
VardaToday at 4:01 PM
Falco! Hiya! I'm in Ithil, one of the few LotRO servers still
operating proving it was the best pick. ; )
[4:01 PM]
Hiya Sunshine : )
ArienValarToday at 4:01 PM
aiya
VardaToday at 4:02 PM
Falco helped us pick, so he gets kudos.
ArienValarToday at 4:02 PM
did they kill Lotro :O?
FalcoToday at 4:02 PM
Jehehehehe
VardaToday at 4:02 PM
Not killed. Just a bunch of the servers are down.
[4:02 PM]
But Ithil and Anor are up.
ArienValarToday at 4:02 PM
ah nice :
VardaToday at 4:03 PM
The European servers were up earlier but just heard at least one
just went down.
[4:03 PM]
The Legendaries are different so maybe they are lucking out.
[4:03 PM]
Anyway, the Devs are working on them, have been all weekend. Come up
and down.
[4:03 PM]
Happened right after removing the Bombadil server.
ArienValarToday at 4:03 PM
any idea yet why? or ar the Devs just finding out?
VardaToday at 4:04 PM
Data servers are messed up.
ArienValarToday at 4:04 PM
eeks
VardaToday at 4:04 PM
Says they're having issues at their data centers.
ArienValarToday at 4:04 PM
ah good luck to them
[4:04 PM]
okay continue
VardaToday at 4:04 PM
We have faith. : )
[4:05 PM]
top
Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:05 PM]
Membership:
[4:05 PM]
Phar said he'd probably be about 30 minutes late but we can expect
to see him. : )
[4:06 PM]
Any other membership news?
[4:07 PM]
top
Web:
[4:07 PM]
Added a few new Tolkien quotes to the Quote Rotator. If you have a
favorite quote, feel free to suggest it. [Note: the Quote Rotator
shows on our general News page.]
[4:07 PM]
Eonwe has been doing massive coding work. We'll have a new look when
it's all done. : )
[4:08 PM]
I'm trying to either help or keep out of the way, heh. I get to keep
being editor.
[4:08 PM]
The image of Fangorn from the sneak preview has been linked into the
main site.
[4:08 PM]
The image you saw last time.
[4:09 PM]
top
Gaming:
[4:09 PM]
Eonwe is not here at the moment, so I'll fill in. Feel free to
mention news from games you know about!
[4:10 PM]
World of Warcraft:
[4:10 PM]
Looks as if our gang is still mostly interested in Classic, but
Eonwe is keeping our regular worlds open. Thank you!
[4:10 PM]
This week's Bonus Event: MIsts of Pandaria Timewalking.
[4:11 PM]
Check out this week's hotfixes.:
[4:11 PM]
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/23277654/hotfixes-july-17-2020
World of Warcraft
Hotfixes: July 17, 2020 - WoW
Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address
various issues related to World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth and
WoW Classic.
[4:11 PM]
Last Monday: The holiday Luinous Luiminaries in Vashj'ir happened
then.
[4:12 PM]
Did anybody make it into that?
[4:12 PM]
Starcraft 2:
[4:12 PM]
Patch 4.13.0
came out this week.
[4:13 PM]
Fangorn, Eowyn, Faramir, and grandson played this week. Fangorn and
grandson are there right now. : )
[4:13 PM]
Heroes of the Storm:
[4:13 PM]
A new balance patch is out this week.
[4:14 PM]
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/heroes-of-the-storm/23476689/heroes-of-the-storm-balance-patch-notes-july-15-2020
Heroes of the Storm Balance Patch Notes - July
15, 2020
Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with
Hero balance changes! Read on for details.
[4:15 PM]
Hearthstone:
[4:15 PM]
Patch 17.6 is out.
[4:15 PM]
https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/news/23469099/17-6-patch-notes
17.6 Patch Notes
The 17.6 patch includes pre-purchase for
Scholomance Academy, Battlegrounds updates, balance changes for
Standard, and more!
[4:16 PM]
Lord of the Rings Online:
[4:16 PM]
Ithil and Anor servers are still up.
[4:17 PM]
The launcher for the game and their site has info that can help on
the news about openings:
[4:17 PM]
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?681600-Downtime-Notice-Saturday-July-18th
[4:17 PM]
And the launcher did say the work was going into Sunday. Here's
hoping all will be well soon.
[4:18 PM]
Tough job going through a gazillion lines of code and checking the
hardware.
[4:18 PM]
Anyway, the Wedding of Aragorn and Arwen is still underway, with
many festivities.
[4:19 PM]
Feel free to help us collect neato decorations for the kin house and
your own houses.
[4:19 PM]
We get to see Minas Tirith in better times. Repaired and decked out!
[4:20 PM]
Landroval server:
(from memory and with your additions if you can help:
Fangorn
Irmo
Nar
Varda
Ithil server:
Fangorn
Varda
Anor server:
Arien
Fangorn
Varda
[4:20 PM]
Any other gaming news? Sightings of fellow Valarites?
[4:21 PM]
On to...
[4:21 PM]
top
Tolkien!
[4:22 PM]
Before I bring in a Tolkien Moment, did anyone else have Tolkien
stuff? link, news, comments, questions?
[4:24 PM]
This is after the music of Creation.
[4:25 PM]
The quote is from the "Ainulindale", The Silmarillion
[4:25 PM]
*quote:
[4:25 PM]
Never since have the Ainur made any music like to this
music, though it has been said that a greater still shall be made
before Iluvatar by the choirs of the Ainur and the Children of
Ilulvatar after the end of days.
Then the themes of Iluvatar shall be played aright, and take Being
in the moment of their utterance, for all shall then underrstand
fully his intent in their part, and each shall know the
comprehension of each, and Iluvatar shall give to their thoughts
the secret fire, being well pleased.
endquote
[4:26 PM]
This is part of the theme of hope running through the books. There
is a good future coming!
.
[4:27 PM]
the gavel sparkles and bounces to the hammerpad
[4:27 PM]
gavel and hammerpad swirl around each other, sparkling like a
tiny galaxy in the center of our Valarite table
[4:28 PM]
bump foreheads
[4:28 PM]
and return to place
[4:28 PM]
top
After-meeting!
[4:28 PM]
Free chat.
ArienValarToday at 4:30 PM
thank you
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:38 PM
Aiya all
[4:38 PM]
Well that was a quick meeting.
[4:39 PM]
For membership I can add, I guess, that I'm home alone now
for a few weeks... parents on vacation and I'm having a tough time
staying disciplined enough to not let everything go late and into
chaos
VardaToday at 4:40 PM
Try an alarm on your phone or clock? : )
[4:40 PM]
Welcome back!
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:40 PM
That quote is a bit of a doomsday thing, isn't it? No matter
what we do, this is how it's all going to end.
[4:40 PM]
Thanks, and I know what time it is, I just need to keep myself
moving
VardaToday at 4:41 PM
It is also that we will finally get together and make a good world.
[4:41 PM]
come to LotRO...
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:41 PM
Ah yes, paradise
VardaToday at 4:41 PM
Making a new world, the way it was meant to be.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:42 PM
It's certainly a comforting idea.
[4:42 PM]
Also a way of going full circle.
[4:43 PM]
Going back around but without the influence of evil.
VardaToday at 4:45 PM
With full knowledge of each other this time, and done as it was
intended instead of messed up.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:45 PM
Yes.
[4:46 PM]
Seems a bit boring to be honest
VardaToday at 4:46 PM
We can dig you back out of your hole in the ground. ; )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:46 PM
ah, less boring
VardaToday at 4:46 PM
It would let everyone use their creativity to the fullest making the
most amazing and beautiful things, build on those.
[4:47 PM]
Not being crushed back to barbarity every time we start figuring out
things. Keep our libraries instead of burning them down.
[4:47 PM]
Build on the shoulders of giants every time, instead of re-inventing
the wheel.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:47 PM
That does sound nice.
VardaToday at 4:48 PM
The heights to reach that can't even be imagined in the current
state of Middle-earth. : )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:48 PM
Imagine the architecture
VardaToday at 4:49 PM
It would be so amazing. Keep what we know about building then add to
it, and make it beautiful.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:50 PM
We'll be into space before you know it.
VardaToday at 4:50 PM
and making amazing places between the planets, on the moons, and on
planets.
[4:51 PM]
Healing the sun
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:51 PM
The sky's not the limit!
VardaToday at 4:51 PM
I'm rather into stars. ; )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:51 PM
hehe
VardaToday at 4:52 PM
Solar sail ships we could name the Vingilot : )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:52 PM
Ooh.
VardaToday at 4:54 PM
Vingilot-class spaceships. : )
[4:54 PM]
Stations between heavenly bodies
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:55 PM
Can I have an Alcarondas class?
VardaToday at 4:55 PM
Why not!
[4:55 PM]
Going to need lots of names to cover all the neat things we come up
with
top
[4:57 PM]
In other news, LotRO tweet says a bunch of servers will
probably be down until at least tomorrow morning.
[4:57 PM]
Our Ithil server is really booming! Lots of people came here.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:57 PM
I caught that they're removing a server entirely?
[4:57 PM]
Why is that?
VardaToday at 4:57 PM
Oh, the Bombadil server was only for a special event, not permanent.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:57 PM
Ahh.
VardaToday at 4:58 PM
I suspect when they took it down, something got crosswise with the
other servers. Don't know yet, but the timing is suspicious.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:58 PM
hmhm
VardaToday at 4:58 PM
Also means we probably get extensions of stuff going on. The gripers
will probably get us extra goodies to mollify them, but not needed,
really. Just happy to have the game up
[5:00 PM]
Anyway, we have our Ithil and it's doing really well. Lots of folks
here, lively.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:00 PM
Sounds about right How many will stay?
VardaToday at 5:00 PM
We also have Anor, but I happen to be on Ithil at the moment. ; )
[5:01 PM]
Now that they've found the place, a number of them will keep up alts
here. They get invested in things and meet people.
[5:01 PM]
How many? shrug
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:01 PM
Enough, anyway.
[5:02 PM]
You'll have 10 hobbits for every orc.
VardaToday at 5:02 PM
hehehe
[5:02 PM]
I'll still be around!
[5:02 PM]
It's like having more than one game. : )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:03 PM
Speaking of, I'll head back into WoW.
VardaToday at 5:03 PM
Have a good run!
[5:03 PM]
and set your alarm. ; )
[5:03 PM]
Thanks for chatting!
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:03 PM
Still all the stuffs to do. Also staying here in the room though
[5:03 PM]
Can still chat!
VardaToday at 5:04 PM
heh, same. All the stuffs to do!
VardaToday at 5:19 PM
+Cordovan says all worlds other than the Legendary are currently
closed.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:19 PM
Maybe they're on a different machine or something?
VardaToday at 5:20 PM
They are different several ways, so it is interesting. Each world is
on a different server. But aye.
[5:21 PM]
Chat guys say Europe is up.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:21 PM
yay us?
VardaToday at 5:21 PM
Aye : )
[5:27 PM]
Free-to-play can't enter the Legendary servers.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:59 PM
For Hearthstone, btw, new expansion announced.
[5:59 PM]
Scholomance Academy, based on the instance in WoW.
[5:59 PM]
But rather different
VardaToday at 6:02 PM
Cool, thanks. : )
top
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:09 PM
On that note, personal gaming report!
[6:10 PM]
Flashgaming: 3 new games! 1 old, 1 old
but a different badge, and one new!
[6:12 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/Ragdollsoft/particles
is the first one, a simple action game where you control a blue ball
and have to dodge the red balls bouncing around off the walls and
each other.
Kongregate
Particles
Particles is a simple physics game where you
dodge bouncing balls.
Move the blue ball with the mouse, avoid the red
balls for as long as you can.
Be sure to tu...
[6:12 PM]
See how long you last, as it can get difficult quickly
[6:12 PM]
Also one of the most memorable action game music tracks I've heard.
[6:13 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/innomin/fear-less
for the second game! I must've linked this one two or three times
before, but I just like it
Kongregate
Fear Less!
A girl#39s recurring nightmares of being chased
by death. Clear your mind and fight back against the darkness!
A collaboration between innomin and atpalicis.
a...
[6:14 PM]
A running game, very stylish/atmospheric, where you play a girl
running from her nightmare, fighting enemies and jumping over
obstacles.
[6:14 PM]
As you go you collect coins to buy upgrades, including up to a
triple jump, very useful.
[6:15 PM]
The goal is to get all medals (which also requires all upgrades) to
finish, which can be rather tough!
[6:16 PM]
I'd played this game several times before for the earlier two badges
(and later on just because I like it), but this week... first time
we got the completion badge. And I was still short the hardest 3
medals: longest distance required overall, longest distance required
without getting hit, and getting the most coins required in one run.
[6:17 PM]
But last monday I really went at it, trying and trying, and getting
them one at a time, and I was so happy when I got the last one for
running 500 meters
[6:17 PM]
Just goes to show, gotta keep trying!
[6:19 PM]
And if you get all medals, happy ending of course!
[6:20 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/Lu_Muja/zs-dead-detective-walls-can-bleed
for the third game, and the new one for this week
Kongregate
ZS Dead Detective - Walls can Bleed
A Point and Click detective adventure! Find
clues, combine them and solve the case... or not!
---DISCLAIMERDISCLAIMERDISCLAIMER-
You don#39t have to be dead to play this game...
[6:21 PM]
Part of a point and click series where you play a detective in
zombieland, having to solve crimes and puzzles. Goal in each game is
to collect clues, combine them into deductions, and finally come to
the right conclusion.
NEW
[6:21 PM]
In this one, you need to find out who mysteriously keeps putting
graffiti on a wall without getting noticed by the camera!
top
Blizzard gaming:
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:53 PM
Starcraft II:
Second phase of the war chest still ongoing, I've gotten three of
the 5 tiers now. Might not do so well next week, as I might be away
for a few days, but plenty of time left
[6:54 PM]
Heroes of the Storm:
still 422, no new levels, though I had some fun with my new hero
Stitches Got to use a few of my old favorites in the brawls,
which is always nice.
NEW
[6:59 PM]
Hearthstone:
Got my five wins for the card back, yay Brawl was the one
where you only get to use common and rare cards from the basic and
classic sets, so basically the simple old stuff. Did pretty okay
with a hunter secret deck and some cheap beasties!
WoW:
[7:02 PM]
Raiding still going the way it goes, with another N'Zoth kill this
week. Seems to go routinely smoothly. Sunday alt-raid was cancelled,
not enough signups. People on holiday, perhaps?
[7:03 PM]
The tuesday raid, however! Another achievement raid. We didn't think
we had enough people for Ny'alotha achievement, so we went back to
the first raid of the expansion instead, Uldir.
[7:04 PM]
And we got all the achievements in a few tries Most of them
are pretty simple if you have low numbers in the raid and are
overgeared by 3 raidtiers
[7:04 PM]
Which means not only the Uldir Raider achievement, but a Crawg mount
reward! I love crawg mounts
[7:06 PM]
Then the Orgrimmar vision! As Eonwe already mentioned earlier, some
of the hardest affixes were nerfed, including Leaden Foot which was
present this week. Not sure how much of a role it played, but I for
the first time I not only made it to Rexxar with 5 masks, but also
killed him and Thrall at the end, with an orb and a resurrection to
spare.
[7:07 PM]
To be fair, I had pretty good luck with potions, with extended 2%
health regen and firebreath buffs gained early on.
[7:07 PM]
Which meant the Mad World achievement for 5masking both Stormwind
and Orgrimmar, with a title reward, The Faceless One.
[7:08 PM]
If you've seen my transmog, you'll know it fits
[7:08 PM]
And got some nice 470 gloves from it, a direct upgrade over the 465
for feral.
[7:08 PM]
Sorry, wrists.
[7:09 PM]
Got all the echoes I need now for my last guardian corruptions,
which meant I could drop emissary quests again, so I did
[7:10 PM]
I expect the corruptions to show up somewhere next week, hopefully
not while I"m away I'll have to check wednesday morning,
seriously.
[7:10 PM]
New pet! Poro the Kakato from island expeditions. Very cute
flightless parrot, and I'd been waiting to get him for a long
time now (edited)
[7:12 PM]
Timewalks are the only weekly quest this time around, still doing
one a day. Nice and relaxing, especially after that vision!
[7:13 PM]
And finally, the new novel arrived, Shadows Rising. Glossed through
it a bit, story seems mostly filler but it bridges the expansions
nicely. Think I'll take it with me on my few days away
[7:15 PM]
In Total Annihilation, I finished the expansion campaign for the
Core! Level 11 was the thin map I mentioned.. and remarkably easy.
Once I got a bit of an airfleet going it turned out they only had a
simple base with no flak cannons, so it was quite overkill in the
end.
[7:17 PM]
Level 12 was indeed with the superweapon, but you start with pretty
much every building and unit damaged, including the Krogoth
superunit and the fusion reactor that powered him, so I had to rush
to repair all those as I got some defenses going before I could take
it on the offensive. It's not invincible though, is vulnerable to
overwhelming numbers as well as the top tier defensive weaponry, so
it can use some spotters for sight and some spammable backup to take
the hits.
[7:18 PM]
You only need to survive for one hour, but I made it a challenge to
destroy the enemy anyway in that hour. Was pretty close, too, since
there wasn't much of an economy and getting my defensives up took a
while. Also, Krogoth takes a long time to repair
[7:19 PM]
And then I started the Arm campaign! First levels take place on the
same world as the Core first levels, with no landmasses and
completely naval bases. First level felt rather easier than the Core
one, until suddenly I got overrun by some way too powerful ships...
so I restarted and focused on more defensive ships first rather than
a perimeter of defensive buildings. Really should've learned my
lesson by now
[7:21 PM]
Still, I got it and moved into the second level, which is actually
rather interesting, as your initial location is sheltered by a reef
through which it is difficult to get attacked, but there's not much
room to build and collect resources so you need to move out anyway.
Had some trouble with air harassment but pretty sure I control the
airspace now. Should be good for the offensive soon
[7:22 PM]
And that's my report for the week!
VardaToday at 8:28 PM
Thanks Phar : )
[8:28 PM]
Good to see you still get to play the flash games too.
NEW
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 8:28 PM
Yes. Some badges we've not had before. At least one more difficult
I wonder how long this badge/kongpanion thing lasts now!
VardaToday at 8:29 PM
Might last into December
[8:29 PM]
I think that's how long Adobe Flash stays up
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 8:29 PM
They are removing a number of broken badges in August.
I'm not sure if anything new is going to happen when Flash goes
down... and there'll always be ways to play Flashgames anyway, new
browsers that focus on ways around it etc.
VardaToday at 8:30 PM
Good for the devs to be thinking well ahead about how to get around
the problem.
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